Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in hot water (again). An aide to Netanyahu has been arrested over a leak of classified documents that an Israeli court says may have compromised efforts to release hostages in Gaza and threatened national security.
The court partially lifted a gag order on Sunday that revealed the aide as Eliezer Feldstein, a spokesperson in Netanyahu’s office.
The documents were leaked to foreign media outlets that published articles on them in early September at a key moment in negotiations for a cease-fire deal involving the release of hostages. One report from the UK-based Jewish Chronicle, which has since been retracted, suggested that Hamas was planning to smuggle hostages into Egypt. Another, published by the German tabloid Bild, said Hamas was prolonging talks to foment divisions within Israel.
At the time, Netanyahu was facing mass protests after the deaths of six hostages in Gaza. Critics of Netanyahu say the leaked documents backed up the prime minister’s hardline stance on truce talks and offered him political cover for not reaching an agreement.
Opposition leader Yair Lapidsays Netanyahu is either complicit or incompetent and, therefore, “not qualified to lead.” Hostage families are also up in arms.
This scandal comes after a series of wins for Netanyahu, including the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, and after his approval numbers appeared to be rebounding. Opponents of Netanyahu say he’s prolonged the war for political reasons, as far-right members of his fragile coalition have threatened to quit the government if a peace deal was reached.
Netanyahu denies involvement in the leak and much is still unknown due to the gag order — including the identities of several other suspects. We’ll be watching how this unravels in the days ahead, and whether it has the potential to threaten Netanyahu’s grip on power.